BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker running for the U.S. Senate in Arkansas said Tuesday that the constitutional amendment requiring U.S. senators to be elected by popular vote should be revisited because he thinks it forces candidates to spend too much attention on fundraising.
State Senator Kim Hendren of Gravette told The Associated Press he believes there should be a Senate floor debate about whether the 17th Amendment should be repealed. The amendment changed the selection of senators from each state's legislature to popular vote.
"I'm not sure that the 17th amendment was a smart thing to do," Hendren said after a forum for potential Senate candidates.
Hendren said earlier at the forum that he believed the amendment had made the Senate less responsive to the people.
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"Now they tell us that if you want to become a candidate, the first thing you need to do is go to Washington, pass the hat and see how much money you can get up there so they can get elected the senators they want in Arkansas," Hendren said. "We need to go back and get like the founding fathers suggested."
Since announcing he was running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Hendren has attracted attention for controversial statements. He apologized for referring to New York Sen. Chuck Schumer's religion during a public appearance, but stopped short of admitting he referred to the New York Democrat as "that Jew," as one conservative blogger reported.
Hendren also has given mixed signals on how committed he is to the Senate race and hasn't filed any paperwork with the Federal Election Commission since announcing his bid April 18. Hendren said Tuesday that he intends to run but hasn't raised or spent any money on his bid.
Hendren also has faced skepticism within the Republican Party for supporting two major tax increases, a 56-cent-a-pack hike in the state's cigarette tax that was approved in the Legislature this year and an increase in the state's severance tax on natural gas that lawmakers backed last year to pay for road improvements.
Other Republicans who have announced they're running for the Senate include Fred Ramey, a businessman from Searcy, and Tom Cox, a businessman from Little Rock. Several other Republicans have said they're considering joining the primary contest.